Window cleaner



June 1, 1937.

w. H. KLING WINDOW CLEANER Filed ma 9, 1936 Patented June 1, 1937 HTE STATES ATE'E FHQE WINDOW CLEANER William H. Kling, Merchantville, N. J.

Application May 9, 1936, Serial No. 78,871

Claims. (01. 15-126) My invention relates to window cleaners and sion, not shown) suitably attached to a band ll, particularly to window cleaners having wicks for which in turn surrounds a cleaning fluid tank [2 moistening windows. and supports a squeegee iii of rubber or suitable A purpose of my invention is to prevent the material, held in a channel member i l by a 5 tanks of window cleaners from becoming airclamp l5 suitably attached to the band H. 5 bound. The ends of the band ii are bent outwardly at I A further purpose is to supplement the air flow Hi to engage on the respective sides of clamping through the wick of a window cleaner by an air plates ll which support the faces of a wick l8. inlet which will not allow substantial quantities One end l6 of the band it and one clamping 10 of cleaning fluid to leak out. plate ll held by this end It are hidden by the 10 A further purpose is to provide a tank of a wick in Figure 1. The ends l6 of the band ll window cleaner with a long attenuated air vent are held by bolts I9. Additional bolts 20 are propassage to prevent leakage of cleaning fluid. vided to draw together the ends of the clamping A further purpose is to vent the tank of a plates. 16 Window cleaner by an interior port near the The tank l2 has a discharge opening desirably center of one end of the tank and exterior port in the form of a slot at El and the slot registers near the edge. of the end, the ports being conwith the wick l8 so that cleaning fluid escaping nected by a substantially radial passage through through the slot 2! will be taken up by the wick the end wall. and maintain the wick in moist condition. By

20 A further purpose is to locate the exterior openregulating the tightness of the bolts [9 and 20, 20 ing of an air vent in immediate proximity to the the rate of feed of the cleaning fluid from the wick so that any leakage through the air vent tank to the wick can be adjusted rapidly. Deduring use of the moistener will simply moisten pending upon the pressure, the wick l8 may in the wick. certain instances be forced well into the slot, as

A further purpose is to locate the exterior port shown at 22 in Figure 6. 25 of an air vent at the highest point of the tank The parts above described are generally well when the tank is in inoperative position. known in devices of this kind.

A further purpose is to form the ends of a In using the window cleaner just described, it

window cleaner tank of separate members, one has been customary to soak the wick in a pan of which ends is double walled and contains an of water for a suitable time, desirably a few 30 air vent passage longitudinal of the end. minutes, and then to squeeze out the excess water Further purposes appear in the specification from the wick. The tank has then been filled with and in the claims. a suitable cleaning fluid, which may be water, or

In the drawing I have chosen to illustrate one preferably water containing a little vinegar, only of the many embodiments in which my insuitably in the proportions of about one tea- 35 vention might be shown, choosing a form which spoonful of vinegar to about a half-pint of water.

is satisfactory in operation and which well illus- The wick is then ordinarily tapped several times trates the principles involved. on a flat surface to press it firmly against the Figure l is a perspective View of my improved slot in the tank. The wick is now ready to window cleaner. moisten the windows, after which they are dried 40 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cap at the by the squeegee used in the conventional manner. end of the tank at which the air vent is located. While moistening the windows, the clamping Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tank body. plates, H are substantially horizontal with the Figure 4 is a central section of the cap at the wick surface I8 against the window and the slot air vent end, drawn to enlarged scale. at the side of the tank. The cleaning fluid in 5 Figure 5 is a fragmentary central section of the the tank gyrates and surges constantly, maintank body for assembly with the cap of Figure 4. taining the portion of the Wick in contact with Figure 6 is a fragmentary section showing the the interior of the tank in a moist condition. cap and tank body assembled and the wick in As cleaning fluid is drawn outwardly through the place. wick and deposited upon the window at the sur- 50 In the drawing like numerals refer to like face 88 of the wick, it is necessary for air to parts. flow into the tank to prevent the tank from Figure 1 shows a window cleaner of the type becoming air-bound and causing the wick to well known in the art, consisting of a handle ll] remain dry. (which may, if desired, receive a handle exten- The felt of the Wick is surprisingly impervious 55 to air, particularly when wet. After the initial moisture contact imparted to the wick prior to use is exhausted, difliculty is encountered with the moistener because of the tendency to become air-bound. Thus, after a period of use, it has been found necessary to moisten the wick by dipping it in water in order to restore its efficiency. An air vent of the conventional type cannot be used because it will permit leakage and loss of cleaning fluid and possible damage to furniture, etc., on which the window cleaner is placed when not in use.

I have discovered that the Window cleaner will function continuously providing an air inlet of the type invented by me is used, and that the disadvantages of leakage, wastage of fluid and damage to objects on which the window cleaner is placed can be avoided.

I prevent the leakage of cleaning fluid by using a long attenuated air escape passage 23 which is formed in the double wall of the tank 12. As shown in Figure 3, the integral end wall 24 of the tank body 25 is pierced by a port 26 opening into the interior of the tank and also dented to form a channel-like depression 21 extending radially of the end wall. The cap 28 is provided with a small port 29 which cooperates with the radially outer end of the passage 23 when the cap 28 is in position on the end of the tank body, as shown in Figure 6.

In order for air to enter the tank to take the place of cleaning fluid which has been drawn out by the wick l8 and applied to the glass being operated upon, the air must flow through the outside port 29, the attenuated passage 23 and the inside port 26. Cleaning fluid in order to escape through the air vent must flow in the reverse direction through the inside port 26, the attenuated passage 23 and the outside port 29. Since the frictional resistance of the air vent to the flow of the liquid cleaning fluid is very much greater than the frictional resistance to the flow of the gaseous air, air enters the vent very much more readily than cleaning fluid escapes, and the escape of cleaning fluid during the normal use of the window cleaner is prevented.

It is desirable that the vent offer considerable fluid friction and therefore some attention should be paid to the dimensions of the ports and passage. These are of course subject to change with the size of the tank, but for a tank holding somewhat less than a half pint, I find that the air vent works satisfactorily when the outside port 29 is approximately inch in diameter, the depression forming the attenuated passage 23 approximately inch in width and roughly of half-round cross section, and the inside port 26 as large as 4; inch in diameter. The attenuated passage 23 in the preferred embodiment is more than inch long.

I also find that it is very desirable to locate the outside port 29 in juxtaposition to the wick so that any fluid leakage which may nevertheless take place will not result in wastage of cleaning fluid but will simply serve to moisten the wick. This involves placing the port 29 near the circumference and in the same circumferential position as the discharge opening 2|. It will be noted that in Figure 6 the wick portion 38 is in close proximity to the outside port 29, so close in fact that minute hairs or threads (not shown) of the felt or other wick material touch with edges of the port, but the felt is not pressed into the port nor against the port and therefore does not impede the flow of air. It will be evident that as the moistener is used, any possible leakage of cleaning fluid out through the air vent (although ordinarily none will occur) Will be picked' up by the hairs or threads of the wick and distributed through the wick, and particularly to the operative surface I8 of the wick. This is not only a saving of cleaning fluid in case leakage should occur but avoids possible drip which would be damaging to woodwork, hangings, rugs and floors. The portion 38 of the wick also protects the air port from clogging with dust or dirt.

In no case does the tank become air-bound, as the air vent supplements the flow of air through the wick itself to the slot 2|.

The location of the long attenuated air passage in What is effectively a double end wall of the tank is quite advantageous as this construction is simple to manufacture and avoids the use of a tube projecting from or into the tank and likely to become detached.

It will be understood that the interior communication between the air vent and the tank should be at a point which communicates with the air in the tank. Unfortunately, the position of the tank during use varies with different users and a location of the inside port 26 around the edge is likely to be satisfactory for one user and unsatisfactory for another. It is therefore preferable to locate the inside port 26 at the center and this proves satisfactory because with the gyration and churning of the fluid during use of the moistener, the inside port 26 is frequently in communication with air inside the tank.

The location of the outside port 29 is important also from the standpoint of preventing leakage from the tank when the window cleaner is not in use. At such times, the cleaner will normally rest upon the squeegee l3 and the end of the handle Ill, with the discharge opening and wick up to prevent the wick from drawing out cleaning fluid from the tank. The position of the tank and wick when inoperative as just explained is generally indicated in vertical section by Figure 6. The outside port 29, being at a high point on the tank in this position, will prevent leakage of cleaning fluid from the tank.

The end of the tank opposite from the air vent is provided with a suitable cap 3| having a stoppered opening, not shown. The tank may be desirably constructed from parts extruded or drawn from aluminum or the like. It has been found preferable to use an extruded tubular body 25 having an integral end wall 24, and drawn caps 28 and 3|.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the material and in the constructional features without departing from the substance of the invention.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown and I therefore claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a window cleaner, a tank having a discharge opening, a wick outside the tank and en gaging the walls of the discharge opening and walls forming an air vent communicating from the interior of the tank to the outside air, constantly open to the outside air and including walls forming a long attenuated passage of uniformly small diameter.

2. In a window cleaner, a tank having a dis charge opening, a wick outside the tank and engaging the edges of the discharge opening and walls forming an air vent communicating from the interior of the tank to the outside air and having a port at its outside end in juxtaposition to the wick, whereby cleaning fluid escaping through the air vent will be taken up by the wick.

3. In a window cleaner, a tank including a tank body having integral side and end walls and an open end, caps upon each end, thereby forming a double wall at one end, walls forming an inner port through the integral end wall into the space between the integral end wall and the cap at that end, walls forming an outer port through the cap and into the space between the cap and the integral end wall, walls forming a passage between the cap and the integral end wall and connecting the ports, Walls forming a discharge opening from the tank and a wick operating with the discharge opening.

4. In a window cleaner, a tubular tank con sisting of a tank body having side and end walls and an open end, caps upon each end, thereby forming a double wall at one end, walls forming an inner air vent port through about the center of the end wall of the tank body into the space between said end wall and the adjacent cap, walls forming an outer air vent port through the cap near its edge and into the spaceibetween the cap and said end wall, walls for ing an air vent passage between the cap and said end wall and connecting the ports, walls forming a discharge opening through the side wall of the tank body and at a circumferential position corresponding to the outer port and a wick extending across the discharge opening and around the end of the cap into close proximity with the outer port.

5. In a window cleaner, a generally cylindrical tank having a lateral discharge opening extending generally lengthwise of one side, a wick secured outside of and in contact with the walls of the discharge opening, walls forming an air vent extending generally radially of the end and communicating with the atmosphere through a port near the circumference positioned around the circumference to correspond with the discharge opening and means to support the tank with the discharge opening and port near the top of the tank, whereby when the window cleaner is not in use, leakage through the discharge opening and through the air vent is alike prevented.

WILLIAM H. KLING. 

